I picked up this book mostly because of the author, less because of the Edgar Allan Poe-yness of it all. The description sounded intriguing on first glance. Two girls falling out, one with a dark secret that begs to be hidden, the other suffering with more than one painful loss. Then, I got to the part where one wants to brick another into a wall. I may have screamed. A little.

Tress Montor and Felicity Turnado are, essentially, foils of each other. Poor vs Rich, Popular vs Pariah, one has everything while the other has lost it all. Seven years ago, Tress lost her parents, and Felicity is the only one who knows what happened to them. Except, she had a seizure, and the details of the night are fuzzy in her disoriented brain. Now, Tress wants answers, and she's not going to take any that she doesn't like. She's got a plan.

As someone who's never read Poe, even I could see the very obvious nods to some of his works here. It's based off Amontillado, but there's multiple others. With the panther on the loose, there is of course a big nod to The Black Cat, ravens being the schools mascot, and the flu possibly being towards The Masque of the Red Death, with the town over being called Prospero. I'm sure there's many more for people who actually are Poe fans, but it was fun to see so many easter eggs!

As for the story. It really kept me reading. It's gripping, thrilling, and beautifully woven together. Some of my notes while reading are just questions marks as I tried to figure out what was going on. Throughout the book, the girls lives and how they became not-friends is told through changing perspectives, as each one has their own side to the story. It's all taking place at the party of the year, where Tress and Felicity are truly alone. Even though each character is telling one half of the same story, it never felt repetitive or boring. It was fascinating.

The reason why I docked a star is because of how many stories are told. Overall, I felt it dragged a little, and even though the chapters were pretty short my interest started to wander after a little bit. We focus more on the stories than the answers Tress really want, which is about her parents. However, the perspective from the cat always seemed to bring me back, and I absolutely loved those little spurts of verse.

THE ENDING! The ending was the time in this book that I actually felt fear, which is not something that happens in a book. The way Felicity leaves off is actually one of my biggest irrational fears so yeah it got under my skin a bit LOL. Just as we're starting to get answers, for things to get a little bit more clear, it ends on a gruesome cliffhanger. I can't believe I have to wait an entire other year for the second book! But totally worth it.

**Will be featured in my October 2020 Wrap up on my channel

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My mind is still spinning trying to figure out what I just read. The first in a duology, this Poe inspired novel is an amazing dramatic thriller that offers a look at so much more than just suspense. If you’ve ever read McGinnis then you know she creates amazing characters, more specifically, amazing female characters. And here she has done it again with the main character, Tress Montor. Let me begin by saying, I am a total sucker for books written in multiple POVs. In this book it gave the reader a greater insight into how often we believe someone is acting or believing and what damage misperceived notions can bring to relationships. As I said before, McGinnis does a phenomenal job with character development in her stories and that doesn’t change here. Each character is complex in their own right, and I enjoyed getting to know each of them (even the few that I wouldn’t want to be friends with).

The story as a whole started off slower than I expected, but when the story picked up I felt like I was catapulted into hyperspeed holding on for dear life. This book does a great job of shining a light on how society looks different between the haves and have-nots, and how that can be magnified when living in a small town. The book also delivered in giving the reader that “creeped out” feeling that only good suspense novels can bring. There were several times I literally said “Ohhhhh *bleep*” out loud. This is an edge of your seat, heart pounding book. Although it is the first in a series, I felt like it answered enough of my questions that I was satisfied with the ending, but also intrigued by the tease of what's to come in the next half. I can’t even imagine what new terror awaits me in part two, but I’m looking forward to finding out!

#TheInitialInsult
#MustReadYA2021
I am going to keep this simple. If you love mystery/suspense books then you must read The Initial Insult. It is thriller that will have you turning the pages faster than you can read them. I burned through this one in about two and half hours. Wait til the ending!! What??!!

The plotting was pretty bananas and I didn’t love some of the threads left hanging, but I found it super absorbing in a time of plenty distractions!

Well, I can safely say this book [REDACTED] me up in ways I haven't processed yet.

Basically, Mindy McGinnis writes the best kind of YA-- YA that doesn't feel like it speaks down to said young adults or spells everything out for them. McGinnis' books are DARK and brutal, and she knows that young adults can handle that. This also makes them easily transferrable to adult audiences. Her other work, "The Female of the Species", is one of my favorites ever.

I loved this book, stayed up late reading it a couple of nights in a row, and the ending literally made me say, "holy shit!" out loud. Few books get that reaction from me. If you're interested in horror, suspense, or just a damn good read, pick this up. I also think this would make a great film.

So upset that I have to wait however long for the sequel, but this was just fantastic and got me out of a bit of a reading rut. Time to read everything Mindy's ever written now.

(Content/trigger warnings for: animal harm/death, drug usage, torture)

This is well written, but I didn't connect with it. The author has talent and I'm disappointed I couldn't enjoy it more. I'm probably just the wrong audience for this one. Suspense fans and YA readers will probably enjoy this.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

So - just to start this off - I'm a huge fan of Mindy McGinnis. When my high school students come in to the library and are looking for a good read, I am usually handing them Female of the Species or Heroine - and now Be Not Far from Me. So I was super excited to get access to The Initial Insult.

This doesn't come out until February, so I'll be really careful with my words here - but this is another powerful story that is completely different from everything else Mindy has written. You have this underlying mystery, but the real story here (as it always is with McGinnis books) is the characters. What keeps you reading is this back and forth with Tress and Felicity...who they were, who they become, the why, and what will happen between them? Mindy is a master of slowly unraveling her story - in this one with alternating points of view as well as memories or flashbacks in time - so that we can fully understand who these two girls are. And as always - and I should be used to it by now - the ending just destroyed me. I think my jaw literally was on the floor. It wasn't what I wanted or expected - but it was still sooooooooo good.

The only problem reading an early copy? Waiting for her next new release.

Whoa! This was a wild ride! Can someone tell me what happened? I might have to reread that end! This was a suspenseful book.

I guess I will start with the usual.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The cover art is great. (And I find that to be very important as some people won’t even bother flipping a book over to find out what it’s about if they don’t like the cover)

The story was easy to get into and kept me wanting to read more.

I’d never heard of this author before this book but I now plan on reading more by them.

This book was dark, quick, young adult psychological thriller. It centers on Tress and Felicity, former best friends who became estranged when Tress's parents disappeared 7 years earlier while driving Felicity home from a sleepover. Tress has fallen into poverty, living with her grandfather in what is dubbed the "white trash zoo", and Felicity remains at the top of the social structure, though keeping a secret that she thinks will ruin her life. Felicity maintains that she cannot remember what happened the night of Tress's parents' disappearance, and Tress takes the opportunity of a Halloween party at an abandoned house to force Felicity to tell her what she knows.

The chapters alternate primarily between Tress and Felicity, and refer to flashbacks through their childhood as well as present time. Both Tress and Felicity are believable and flawed characters, with whom I alternately empathized and was frustrated. There were some chapters thrown in through the perspective of the panther that lives at Tress's zoo, and I felt like those chapters were unnecessary, though felt very "Poe-ish" in a book that was a clear reference to Poe's works.

It was a dark story and I felt sad about the way it all turned out, but it also left a ton of unanswered questions. I have read that this might be the start of a series, which would make sense based on the fact that there was a lack of resolution to some of the mysteries within the book. Overall, I'd recommend it- it's a good story and I couldn't make myself stop reading because I wanted to know what happened.

Note- this was an ARC but there were some places where it said Tress when it meant Felicity, which was confusing, and a couple areas where the tense of words was wrong. Assuming that these will be fixed before the final version. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I love Mindy McGinnis, and was very excited when I read the description of The Initial Insult. Mysteriously missing parents? Nasty feuds between has-been BFFs? A wild animal attraction ala Tiger King? A riff on Poe? Count me in!

The Initial Insult mostly delivers, although the alternating perspectives combined with the alternating timelines made it a little bit difficult to follow at points. Some of the threads reached more of a resolution than others by the end. However, I highly recommend this book if you like YA thrillers with a new and interesting twist. In particular, I loved the dark tone and feel of the book. It's the first book in a series, and the books leaves on a cliffhanger that has me anxiously awaiting the next one, while also feeling contained enough to feel satisfied when I was done. I'm hoping that the next one answers all of my questions!

My favorite aspect of Mindy McGinnis's writing is her complex, unlikable, but somehow enthralling, characters. Both human narrators fell into this category. The plot itself is complex and, at times, convoluted (panther, illness, murder plot, conspiracy...) I was disappointed that many of these plot points were still open by the book's conclusion but am eager for the sequel (although I saw no announcement for a sequel, this book begs for one). This novel also has a plethora of Edgar Allan Poe allusions in varying levels of subtlety but never overdone. Like all of McGinnis's work, this book is not for people looking for a happy story or those who opt to avoid depictions of violence.

I wanted to read this book because I was forced to read "The Cask of Amontillado" my freshman year of high school and I'd always wondered if it would be possible for the events of that story to happen now (surely, Fortunato could have just texted someone, right?) I read the description and saw that the narrators' names were obviously based on the characters in that story. I haven't read that many Edgar Allan Poe stories that I can name, but I recognized a lot of the references- Tress's parents being named Annabelle and Lee, the flu spreading, the school mascot being the Ravens, the town actually being named Amontillado etc.) But even if you're not familiar with them, if you like YA thrillers, you should definitely pick this up.
Tress Montor had a comfortable upper-middle-class life until fourth grade, when her parents went missing while driving her best friend home. Ever since that day, she's lived in a trailer with her grandfather, Cecil, who manages Amontillado Animal Attractions, which is nicknamed "White Trash Zoo" by her rich classmates. With barely any income, she sells Oxy and weed to her classmates, including Felicity.
Felicity Turnado gives off the impression of being wealthy, but she hasn't always been. It was only a few years ago when workers started drilling for gas on her land. She and Tress are no longer friends, but she has her new best friend, Brynn, and a new party scene. Still, very few people know that she suffers from seizures and memory loss, even though it is common knowledge that she was with Tress's parents when they disappeared.
At a class halloween party in one of the town's oldest homes, Tress decides that she knows exactly how she's going to get the answers about her parents from Felicity. So while everyone is distracted, she leads her into the house's basement and chains her to the floor, gradually building four brick walls around her until she's completely sealed in and only discovered when the house is torn down. Will Felicity die? Will someone catch Tress? Will she escape, or will it end completely unexpectedly?
A lot of the book is also told in flashbacks, as far back as fourth grade, but there are some chapters where the narrators have flashbacks mixed in to the present time and it can get confusing.
I'm just going to say that if you don't like when books don't wrap everything up or have epilogues, that part of this book will not work for you. It's not exactly clear, and some of the chapters are only one line of dialogue. I mean, you DO know what happens with the cellar, but you just don't know anything about what happens after.

This book was a thrill ride! I could not put it down. Both of the main girls have me both simultaneously liking and hating them! (I didn't know that was possible.) Also, I love Hugh so much. And I grew attached to all the animals (minus alligator) and I hope them the best. (Also, the off road zoo had a bit of a Joe Exotic theme to it. Yay Tiger King!) Plus, it was set in Ohio, where I have lived since birth.

I did knock off a star because there were SO MANY EDGAR ALLAN POE REFERENCES. I know this story is mainly based on "The Cask of Amontillado." And I love that there are so many allusions to Poe's works. (And fyi, I love Poe! If we have a boy, we are naming him Edgar after Poe!) But at some point, I started to wonder if Mindy made a bet with someone to see just how many she could throw in. I think I counted 17, but I'm sure I missed some. (I don't think a teen would pick up on all of these, though.)

I will 1,000 percent recommend this to my teens when released. I really think the gore and curse words will be a selling point, too. Seriously!

This book was amazing. Fast paced and had me up till the wee hours reading to see what happens next. An incredible take on one of Poe’s classics.

The book was very well paced and I couldn’t put it down, finished in one sitting. Each chapter going back and forth between perspectives of our dual protagonists and skipping through flashbacks helped to craft an engaging and fast-paced story. The use of name references and story mirroring was fun to pick out as a reader, while the addition of clearly new and modern elements helped to keep me reading until the end.

This is the book that I wanted to like very much but only ended up being average on. The purpose for the book is to friends you’ve had a falling out and one friend wants to seek revenge which is actually a good premise for a story. Somewhere along the way though the story kind of loses its footing.

A thriller modeled off of Edgar Allen Poe's Cask of Amontillado, in this book we have a city named Amontillado, Ohio, where Tress Montor seeks revenge. There are a lot of Poe references throughout: their high school team mascot is the raven, Tress;s parents are named Lee and Annabelle. Also her aunt is Lenore Usher. The entire story focuses around the disappearance years earlier of Tress's parents. What really happened the night they disappeared? Tress wants answers and the only person who has those answers is her ex-best friend, If you know the story The Cask of Amontillado, you;'l know how this story goes for a while. But the ending! I;m so glad there is another book coming.

Mindy McGinnis is one of my favorite authors, and I always have high expectations for her work. The Initial Insult did not disappoint at all!

This is a YA adaptation of The Cask of Amontillado, told from 3 perspectives. I was a bit surprised by the 3rd perspective, but it works! This is about Tress and Felicity, who used to be best friends until a tragedy struck, with a devastating impact on Tress especially. Being from a small town, I could really relate to the teenage cliques and shenanigans going on in this book - very much realistic.

When this book ended, I literally yelled "Noooo" because I need to know what happens! That's how good this is.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis.

What in the Tale Tell Heart did I just read?! This book is ca-razy pants.

When Tress loses her parents, she also loses her status, her comforts, and her loving environment. Now she lives with her one eyed uncle at what has been deemed the "white trash zoo," equipped with Panther and all.

Felicity does have it all, including a huge amount of guilt every time she looks at Tress, who was once her friend. But now she knows too much about Tress's parents, things that no one else knows, and there's no way she can tell Tress. Unless she's forced to...

I saw that this is a part one of a series? I truly hope that is the case because otherwise this is just one big panic attack with a pretty cover. The amazing thing is that even though the premise is total batcrap nuts, it works! And it totally had Edgar Poe vibes and I can't wait to read the next one.